Opposition Democratic Party leader Harry Kalaba calls this a sad day for democracy in Zambia and demands the station be allowed back on air.

Zambian Independent Broadcasting Authority held Josephine Mapoma says Prime TV license was revoked in the interests of public safety, security, peace, welfare and good order.

No detail was given for the move but it’s believed to be because Prime TV refused to air free government coronavirus awareness ads.

The station’s reporters were banned from official press conference after its owner Gerald Sawa, who chairs Zambia’s Independent Broadcasters Association,  said the government owed stations millions for previous ads aired and unpaid for.

The license was revoked despite his  apologizing  for these remarks. 

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President Edgar Lungu declared Ambassador Daniel Foote persona non  grata for saying he was horrified at the 15-year jail sentence slapped on two men who had sex.

President Edgar Lungu accused US Ambassador Daniel Foote of criticizing Zambia’s constitution for expressing disapproval of the punishment of a gay couple.

Zambia is one of three dozen Africa countries that outlaw homosexual relations.

Foote further angered Zambian authorities by saying no-one was punished for the misappropriation of millions of dollars of US aid money.

Zambian Foreign Minister Joseph Malanji says the US can’t use its provision of half a billion dollars in aid a year to pressure his government. 

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Zambia gets $500 million a year in aid from Washington.

When US Ambassador Daniel Foote said he was personally horrified last month at the 15 year jail sentence slapped on a Zambian couple in a consensual homosexual relationship, President Edgar Lungu accused him of criticizing his host country’s constitution.

And by adding that Zambian officials could steal millions of dollar in public funds  without prosecution, the US envoy further infuriated Zambian authorities.

Lungu says he’s waiting for Washington’s response to his request.

It remains to be seen how this will impact on the half a billion dollars in aid the US gives Zambia annually.

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Southern Africans consumes more than a fifth of the world’s maize output.

It’s like telling Italians to stop eating pasta.

But Zambia’s vice president Inonge Wina insists the staple in Southern African countries should be ditched in favour of more nutritious foods.

Her country and many of its neighbors are in the grip of drought that has severely reduced maize production.

The climate-change related crises has led to 1,7 million Zambians – that’s 18 per cent of the population – suffering severe food insecurity.

The UN-linked Relief Web says 40 percent of  Zambian children under five years are stunted.

Wina advises Zambians to eat more millet, sorghum, cassava and sweet potatoes

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The Lusaka High Court Keith Mukata to death after finding overwhelming evidence that he had shot the guard.

Keith Mukata’s lover and co accused Charmaine Musonda was acquitted due to lack of evidence.

They were arrested last May after the guard was shot.

Lusaka High Court Judge Susan Wanjelani says there is overwhelming evidence that Mukanta fully intended to kill the guard.

Through his lawyer, Mukata asked for a lesser sentence because  is a first offender and has too many responsibilities.

Sympathisers began wailing as Wanjelani  delivered her judgement to a packed court room.

Death sentences are generally commuted in Zambia to life imprisonment.

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Police in Lusaka have arrested 55 people protesting against the tough measures taken to counter the disease.

Soldiers have been in the streets of the Zambian capital chasing a friend street vendors and closing markets they regard as unhygienic.

Schools have not reopened for the New Year.

Gatherings of more than five people are banned. This includes funerals and weddings.

Police tear gassed people attending a church service.

Zambians are prevented from travelling abroad and the country’s passport offices hav been closed.

Zimbabwe’s new President Emerson Mnangagwa has deferred a visit to his neighbour until the emergency is over.

The post Edgar Lungu’s heavy-handed treatment of Zambia’s cholera outbreak appeared first on Jean-Jacques Cornish.

Lungu says he has information the Zambian judiciary might try to emulate the action of the Kenyan Supreme Court in annulling an election result.

President  Edgar Lungu says there will be chaos if Zambia’s judges step into the political arena.

He’s accused people, whom he will not name, of trying to force regime change in Zambia so that they manage the country the way they did in colonial times.

He says people who don’t love peace and freedom will accuse him of intimidating the courts of law.

This is not the case, he insists, he’s merely warning judges against becoming adventurous copy cats.

The post Zambia President warns his judges against emulating their Kenyan counterparts appeared first on Jean-Jacques Cornish.

His host, President Edgar Lungu paid a similar visit to South Africa ten months ago.

President Zuma’s two-day state visit to Zambia’s aimed at  deepening and strengthening the already existing good bilateral political, economic and cultural relations.

They’re underpinned by strong historical ties that date back from the years of the liberation struggle.

Economic cooperation between South Africa and Zambia is steadily growing.

Last year South African exported goods to Zambia worth about  R30 billion.

Zambia is one of South Africa’s top trading partners in the region and the continent.

More than120 South African companies are doing business in Zambia.

They cover  telecommunications, aviation, tourism, banking, property, retail, entertainment and fast foods.

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The move was welcomed by DA leader Mmusi Maimani who what denied entry into Zambia when he tried to attend Hichilema’s bail application earlier this year.

The Democratic Alliance has maintained all along that the treason charges against Zambian opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema were baseless.

The man who ran a very close second to President Edgar Lungu in last year’s election allegedly endangered Lungu’s life by blocking his motorcade.

The DA says the charges were trumped up and

clearly motivated by a government intent on eliminating a political opponent.

The violent nature of Hichilema’s s arrest, and the inhumane treatment that he  received in detention, confirms the political motives behind the charges.

The post DA welcomes release of Zambian opposition leader appeared first on Jean-Jacques Cornish.

Foreign journalists were barred when Hichilema and five others appeared in court yesterday to plead not guilty.

Amnesty International says treason charges against Hakainda Hichilema for allegedly putting President Edgar Lungu’s life in danger and later of planning to overthrow the state have been trumped up.

Hichilema, who lost a neck-and-neck Presidential race against Lungu a year ago, appeared in good health during his brief appearance yesterday.

Reports that he would be released have been at best premature.

Lawers persist that he will be released the weakness of the state’s case becomes apparent.

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